Ottawa to ease international flight restrictions

Canada and India are expected to complete negotiations on a proposed free trade agreement by November, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to visit Canada in December, according to India’s High Commissioner to Canada Dinesh Patnaik. Patnaik said the ongoing negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement are expected to conclude by November, potentially paving the way for Prime Minister Mark Carney and Modi to sign the agreement in December. Carney has said Modi is expected to visit Canada around Dec. 14-15. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the United N

The Alberta government is suspending the province’s fuel tax for the rest of the year. Premier Danielle Smith made the announcement Tuesday while addressing business leaders in Calgary. Smith said the average price of Western Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was $90.54 per barrel last month, triggering a full suspension of the 13-cent-per-litre provincial fuel tax for the quarter beginning October 1. The province had previously suspended its fuel relief program during the last quarter. However, Smith said Albertans had told the government they would prefer to receive the savings directly at th

B.C. Premier David Eby has formally called a provincial election after meeting with Lieutenant Governor Wendy Cocchia and requesting the dissolution of the legislature. The election is being held two years ahead of schedule. The next provincial election had originally been set for October 21, 2028. The announcement also cancels the Abbotsford-Mission byelection scheduled for September 26, as the riding will now be contested as part of the provincewide general election. The seat had been vacated by B.C. Conservative MLA Rian Gaspar to allow former party leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay to run in the

Party-switching intensifies in B.C. as Surrey South MLA Brent Chapman leaves the B.C. Conservatives and joins the OneBC Party. Chapman, who is the husband of former B.C. Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay, had been facing continued pressure within the party over controversial social media comments from his past. In a statement, Chapman said he had been a loyal party member for the past 15 years, but recent internal divisions, publicly exposed disagreements and what he described as a decline in the party’s principles had made it difficult for him to remain with the B.C. Conservatives. On

B.C. Premier David Eby has met with Lieutenant Governor Wendy Cocchia. Eby is scheduled to hold a press conference at 12:15 p.m. at Government House in Victoria, where he is expected to formally announce a provincial election. The election is being called with about two years remaining in the current term of the B.C. NDP government. Eby had indicated that he was considering an early election amid recent turmoil within the opposition Conservative Party, a change in leadership and the NDP government's narrow one-seat majority in the legislature. According to Elections B.C.'s anticipated electio